Responding to lawsuits aimed at them, Ohio pharmacy chains are pointing the finger back at doctors who prescribed opioids, filing a counter-lawsuit, The Hill reported Wednesday.
"While pharmacists are highly trained and licensed professionals," attorneys for the pharmacies argued in the lawsuit aimed at physicians in two Ohio counties, "they do not write prescriptions."
The pharmacies' lawyers, representing Walgreen Co., CVS, WalMart, and Rite Aid, were effectively attempting to deflect from Summit and Cuyahoga County (Ohio) lawsuits aimed at their drug store clients, per the report.
"In a misguided hunt for deep pockets without regard to actual fault or legal liability, plaintiff has elected not to sue any of these other parties," the pharmacy complaints reportedly argued, pointing to the doctors in a federal lawsuit.
The drug store attorneys say the counties' lawsuit "fails to identify even one prescription that was supposedly filled improperly by any pharmacist working for any of the Summit County Pharmacy Chains. Not one," per the report.
Also, lawyers noted independent drugstores, "pill mills," Internet pharmacies, and "unscrupulous pain clinics," provided more than 40% of the opioids dispensed in Cuyahoga County and more than 60% in Summit County, but they were not targeted in the counties' lawsuit, according to The Hill.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.